Privacy warning to press over children’s social media

The media have been warned off treating social media postings as public material where children are involved.

Press Ombudsman Peter Feeney said one in eight complaints received by his office last year referred to children and he reminded journalists that the Press Council’s code of practice expressly required them to have regarded to the vulnerability of minors.

“With the growth in usage of digital media such as Facebook and Twitter, more and more personal information and comment on and by children is easily accessible,” he said.